Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pilko Kaina
Daily 9am-5.30pm • Entry fee to Yumani village Bs5
A short walk from Yumani, around the coast to the south along a path raised on an Inca stone
platform, brings you to
Pilko Kaina
, the island's best-preserved Inca site. Set on a cliff about
20m above the lake, the main structure is a large and fairly well-preserved two-storey stone
building with classic Inca trapezoidal doorways facing east across the lake to the Isla de la
Luna and the mountain peaks beyond - its original function remains obscure. Pilgrims trav-
elling to the Titikala from the mainland would have passed through here after landing at the
far southern tip of the island.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ISLA DEL SOL
You can visit Isla del Sol on a half- or full-day trip from
Copacabana
, but it's really worth
spending at least a night on the island if you can. Boats call at the settlement of
Yumani
,
where most of the hotels are located, and the village of
Challapampa
at the northern end of
the island. It is also possible to hike to
Yampupata
at the tip of the Copacabana peninsula
and then take a boat from there.
BOAT TOURS
Boat tours leave from the beach in Copacabana at around 8.30am (for a full day), with ad-
ditional half-day boats at 1.30pm. Full-day tours (Bs20-25) generally call briefly at Yumani
beforedockingatChallapampa(sometimesstoppingatChallaenroute).Theythenheadback
to Yumani before returning to Copacabana in the afternoon. Isla de la Luna may also be in-
cluded if enough passengers want to visit it. Some boats also visit the Islas Flotantes (floating
reed islands), though these are not on the same scale as those on the Peruvian side of the lake
and many travellers are underwhelmed. If you want to hike across the island, you can get
off at Challapampa, walk to Yumani and be picked up in the afternoon (3.30-4pm). Alternat-
ively, you can buy a one-way ticket (Bs15) and pay the return fare to any available boat when
you want to come back. Half-day tours, which dock at Yumani, only give you a brief glimpse
of the southern end of the island, and aren't worth doing unless you're really short of time.
Tour agencies
Plenty of agencies sell tickets for two boat companies, Andes Amazonia and
Titicaca Tours; the former tends to be a bit quicker. A couple of smaller operators also run
irregular services. Unless things are really busy, you can usually just turn up in the morning
to buy a ticket.
BOAT HIRE
If you want to halve the journey time and escape the crowds (the boats can be disturbingly
crowded) there's the option of private hire (Bs210-700/$30-100); shop around in Co-
pacabana, and agree the itinerary beforehand.
